A North Carolina animal shelter says the close bond between a donkey and an emu that can barely stand to be separated may complicate an adoption.

The Charlotte Observer reports the male donkey and female emu were rescued from Kershaw, South Carolina when their owner suddenly vanished last week. Jennifer Gordon of nonprofit Carolina Waterfowl Rescue near Charlotte says the owner also left behind other animals.

Advertisement

She says the shelter, which has not yet named the animals, tried separating them. But the donkey cried and the emu became frantic.

“They like to cuddle and even sleep together,” Gordon said. “We can’t separate them, so we need someone who is willing to adopt both a donkey and an emu. That may not be easy.”

The shelter has three other donkeys, but the donkey does not like them.

“He’d rather be with the emu,” she says. “When we put him in with the other donkeys, he attacked them.”

A campaign has been launched on Facebook to name the pair and try to raise money for their food and medical bills.